There is too much information available, especially with the internet. What is not available is wisdom. Education should help people to be wise and not informative. And, it is important to become a good human being.”

This was how actor-director Alok Rajwade shared his perspective on the internet and social media while participating in a panel discussion on ‘Using Social Media Wisely’.

The discussion with fellow panellist, actor Raqesh Bapat and Abhay Vaidya, resident editor, Hindustan Times, Pune, was held at the Hindustan Times Scholarship Programme award function, at the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Hall on Tuesday.

The function was the concluding event of the scholarship programme which saw 24,000 participants from Pune city.

Elaborating, Rajwade said that education is an ongoing process and electronic items like laptops and mobiles are now “a part of our consciousness”. He said it would be better if we accept and embrace this technology rather than fight against it. “It’s like an organ that we have. It’s up to us how we use it,” he said.

Panellists cautioned that social media “being a gray area,” requires to be used with caution. “It is a medium that one should use like salt and pepper, in proper proportion,” Bapat said.

The panellists noted that being a tool with both positive and negative attributes, the internet and social media can often be misused.

“Being in journalism we have seen various cases of trial by media, and now we have something called trial by social media. So let us not be a part of this,” added Vaidya.

Advising students to differentiate between the virtual and physical world, Rajwade added, “Understand the difference between your FB dp (display picture) and your face. Social media is a tool of communication, but this should not be reduced to the intangible space of the virtual world. We need to realise that the world of social media is only a part of our real world, it is not the whole and tangible world. Feelings and human connections should be established and nurtured in a tangible space.”